weightlifting- i need big guns

[BuiltToughF250]

ok, im getting frustrated here. ive got *really* strong arms, but they arent all that big. only 15" flexed, and im not a small guy. well, sort of. ive lost so much weight lately since ive been working and eating healthy, ive gone from 214 in jan. ( 14.5 percent body fat ) to 190lbs now. ( less than 9 percent body fat now ) my arms were only 15" then!?!?!? i want to hear some feedback from you guys with the big pipes- how often do you do curls, how many sets do you do, how much weight?? i also usually do "skull crushers" ( french curls are the proper term i think ?) and tricep extensions to build up the back. and of course bench press. so, tell me what worked for you. i eat alot of protien andeat healthy, i wonder if the work i do ( tree removal ) doesnt give me enough time to rest ? ive taken 3 weeks off of weightlifting and will hit it heavy starting this week

[Octane]

If all you do is curls, you arent going to have big arms.
You NEED to work your triceps if you want big arms. You can do curls all day long, but you still wont have big guns if you dont do pushups or bench press.
I used to work out every day, and I have many instances at my job where women would come up and big like, "Oh my god, your arms are huge" and theyd wanna squeeze my arms and all that. Anyways, here was what I did. I would ride my mountain bike about 30 minutes every day to work my lungs, legs and lower abs. Then I would alternate between doing pushups one day and arm curls the next. I can do about 40 pushups and I used to arm curl 80 pounds (3 sets of 15 reps).
Thats all I really did.
It must have worked because all the smarta$$ guys at my work who thought they were all big and bad would always say to me, "you're strong, but I can still kick your butt". Also, like I said, I had several women at work mention my arm size to me.
I havent worked out much lately. I just dont have the drive anymore.
Granted, a lot of women like guys with muscle but to be honest with you, I get just as much attention now that I dont work out as I did when I worked out every day. Its all about the confidence and the charisma, Im thinking. I also think that it helps that most of the college girls I end up meeting at parties think that Im some kinda cowboy. Dont ask me why, but that seems to turn a preppie college girl on.
Octane

[BuiltToughF250]

well, for an example- ill often start warming up- with 55# dumbells in each hand, sets of 8-10, and move up to 65#s in each hand. and NO, i dont do it sloppy or fast... i use great form. i can do 95#s with an EZ bar on a preacher curl rest, sets of 8-10, 2-3 sets. i can do sets of "21's" with 95 pounds, with a olympic bar, only getting sloppy form at the last few reps.

when i weighed 200-205, i was curling 155#s, 1 set of 2 reps, with an olympic bar.
people think im nuts when i curl. hammer curls i can use 75 pounders in each hand. like i said, my arms are really strong, just not very big. and i dont think i do too many sets during each workout either

so, WHY DONT I HAVE HUGE PIPES!!!?!?!?!??!?????!?!??!

[BuiltToughF250]

and yeah, i work my triceps quite a bit, ive bench pressed 315#s one-two reps pretty regularly in the past. my chest and shoulders is of pretty decent size

[stu37d]

Why don't you change up your workout a little and do lighter weights, but very slow and deliberate reps. I feel like I get a better burn doing this. I also feel like I get a little bit of a bicep workout when I do lat pull-downs and seated rows, too, so i work those on a different day.

[BuiltToughF250]

i change up my workout once in a while, and... sometimes il do them super slow, with a lighter weight sometimes.

like i said, i wonder if my physical occupation is wearing off what i gain from lifting.

ive lost way too much weight in the last few months, thankfully alot of it was fat but... i cant help but worry if some of it was muscle, even though i still take in a great amount of protien.

[Octane]

Originally Posted by BuiltToughF250

so, WHY DONT I HAVE HUGE PIPES!!!?!?!?!??!?????!?!??!

Its hard to say. Myself, I work 40-60 hours a week in a factory plus I ride ATVs and snowmobiles, so I use my arms quite a lot.
It could be genetic. Some people just have a different build and perhaps your build doesnt lend to being huge like that.
Perhaps you dont eat enough or enough of the right things. Its hard to say.
Id rathar have a lot of definition than to just be huge. When you get really huge and then you stop lifting, you end up just looking flabby. If you are smaller and stop lifting, you still look OK.
Octane

[BuiltToughF250]

yeah im sure my genetics have alot of blame... ive got friends who dont work out half as hard as i do, and have better results. for the longest time, i litterally ate every 2-3 hours during the morning / day / evening. typically, it was a home cooked breakfast, then every few hours after that i would eat a large snack consisting of protien shakes, and bananas, turkey sandwiches, string cheese, cottage cheese, tons of beef jerky, and then 2 home cooked dinners and a snack before bed.

its actually a common joke amongst my friends about how much i eat

them -"hey, where ya going- to eat again"
me- "um, yeah, its been 2 hours"
ive eaten up to 8- 4 course meals in a day, fluctuating from 200 pounds in the morning to 206 pounds at lunch time

[V10KLZZ71S]

I'm 5-10 215# w/17" arms.Triceps are approx 2/3 of the arm muscle, so development there is crucial.Narrow grip push downs,dips,rope pull downs, skull crushers are all good.There is a muscle between the bi's + tri's, bracali, aw hell I wont attempt to spell it but reverse curls with an overhand grip develops this one.As far as curls, try leaving your wrist relaxed angled down towards the ground when you curl.This isolates the bicep more since you cant utilize forearms in the curl which is a common mistake.Heavy and 4-8 reps are gonna get your arms big.Genetics play a role also.Work the arms from many different angles, same exercise but try different techniques. Good Luck.

[furball69]

It can't be stated enough to work your triceps, double what you work your biceps.

A pully hung from a floor joist is ideal fo rtriceps workouts;

pressdowns or whatever they're called are great for overall tri workout;

supine tricep presses - don't bother with working your chest to try and get a tricep workout.

seated tricep kicks with dumbells - these are a good excersize to work to failure cause you san spot yourself with your free hand and give the weight a nudge when you need it to push it over the top.

regular old kickbacks - kneeling with same-side knee and hand on bench, other side; upper arm parallel to ground and kick out the arm to full extension.

With the pulley, you can isolate each individual muscle of the triceps;

with a single grip handle - square off with the pulley so you are facing it and step to the right or left about 3 feet, with the arm that is further away from the pulley, grab the handle, upper arm vertical, pointing to the ground and your hand should be crossing your chest with load on the handle. Swing your arm, almost like a kickback - your elbow will probably move out a bit but that's ok

With the single grip handle - turn your back to the pully, upper arm parallel to the ground, pointing in front of you - same idea as a pressdown but do some with forward grip and some with reverse grip.



YOu've probably heard me say this before or something to the effect...

We do mundane tasks everyday for long periods at a time. If mundane tasks built muscle everybody would be huge. If mundane tasks built muscle, professional body builders wouldn't need to work out with hundreds on top of hundreds of pounds to look like they do. The body responds to NOT being able to lift weight by correcting the problem, by building muscle. If you want to get big you must fail to lift the weight before you hit 8 reps. Never do that with bench press unless you have a strong spotter. That doesn't include warmup - always awrm up with a medium weight with as many reps as you like; 10 - 15 is plenty X 2 - 3 sets.


I fleetingly worked out last year, once a week for a couple months, concentrating on my arms and put on 1 1/4 inches in 6 weeks. I think it was shorter than that but we'll say 6 weeks.

http://www.maxsportsmag.com/bodybuil...ue35/35bb1.htm

[1BigExpy]

Back in college I was more interested in weight lifting than going to class. I developed large arms by only doing three things. Bench press, curls and then bench press with my hands about 5 inches apart. Three sets of 10 did the trick.

[JohnnyBench520]

Sorry to bring up this thread... I avoided it for a while, sometimes ( no offense) sometimes the advise we give is akin to a train wreck.. Built tough, if you are ever in Portland oregon, stop by the dinosore pit, its a private powerlifting club.
From your posts, it seams like your goals are bodybuilding specific. To be massive you have to be heavy, and ripped, ( i know... very basic) from personal experience, at 5'8 210 10% fat, my arms look small compaired to the rest of my body, but at 5'8 235, my arms seam to be balanced with the rest of my body, keep inmind I have a 50 inch chest, 34 waist, and a 19 inch neck. Try to gain some weight, you cant chissle the hulk out of barbie. How do I lift? 2 very heavy days, and 2 light speed/recovery days. Tuesday I do 8 sets to 3 in the bench at 55% of my max, followed by as many sets of skull crushers, pull downs, rev pulldowns, etc that I can handle, it is usually a 3 round giant set. Wed is my deadlift/ posterior chain day, good morinings to 405#, deadlifts to 55% shrugs to 585 (6 wheels) mebbe more/less, thursday curls, bike ridin'
Friday HEAVY bench day, yesterday I went to 505, sunday smokin heavy deadlifting.
This is a powerlifting program that may not work for you, but it helps build a lot of mass, stregnth, and it will give you the muscle foundation to sculpt your big guns.

Good luck,

PS as far as food .. if it looks edible eat it. LOL

just my .002 Im no expert

JA

[Port City]

I have 21 1/2 inch arms. To get these big guns you have to weigh at least 300 lbs.

I do.

Join a gym. They will put you on the right road to your goals.

If you want big arms....Ya gotta eat and I mean EAT !!!

My after workout meal is usually 2 whole chickens washed down with a lot of cold beer.

Do cardio a couple times a week.

Suppliment advice : Creatine works......PERIOD Add in a multi-vitamin. Thats it.

Don't do drugs. Don't smoke.

Now, Get-R-Done.............................................. ....

[BuiltToughF250]

i dont do drugs... at all, anymore... which im pretty proud of. even then it was only pot, i stayed away from the really messed up stuff. i dont smoke, beer is 2-3 nights a week on the weekends.

ill typically take multi-vitamins. what seemed to work for me for a while until i got too physically burnt out to lift for a month, i was taking a couple protien shakes, NO2,and creatine. i think i will start that cycle again immediatly after memorial day weekend. plus i eat every 2-3 hours when im heavy lifting. but lately ive been eating 3-4 times a day so my intake is cut in half.

anyways... ill start on the schedual again next week. im at 190#s right now... i think the coach of the fight team wants me to drop to 185 to fight... but i cant beat the desire to be BIG

[Port City]

If your getting burnt out often you could be over training. When you over train you will not have results or minimal results.

People over train all the time.

***Train hard (intense short workouts 1 hr or less). Rest Hard. Eat Hard.***